Rhun ap Iorwerth: To close, as I said, this debate is another opportunity to look at the specific problems that we had in Wales during the pandemic period. But we can't understand those problems properly and we can't learn the lessons stemming from those experiences unless the decisions that were made in Wales are scrutinised properly here in Wales, and that's why we on these benches are still calling for a...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: It was very, very disappointing to see the announcement that children's hospices are not to receive an increase in financial support for provision of end-of-life care as part of the phase 2 funding and, with no timeline in sight for the commencement of phase 3, the hospices are growing increasingly frustrated and concerned about the future. I appeal to Welsh Government again today to remember...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you for bringing this motion forward today, Mark Isherwood. I'm very pleased to be able to take part in this debate, and very grateful for the work that was done by the cross-party group on palliative and hospice care in creating the report that forms the basis of this motion before us today. And, of course, we need to remember all of the individuals who are part of the consultation...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Will you take an intervention? I know the time is tight, but would the Member agree with me that it can't just be about empowering tourism businesses, but about devising tourism in a way that works, yes, for those businesses, but for the communities in which they operate?
Rhun ap Iorwerth: I'm happy to support this legislative proposal, although I should explain that I'm approaching it from a slightly different angle to the Member that moved the motion. I will talk of my experience as a journalist back 20 years ago. I recall during that time, early in my career, in the 1990s, perhaps, there was a great deal of coverage in the Welsh media, in news and so on, as to what was...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Here we are again—another damning report. We are talking about an inspection that had placed the emergency department at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd in May of last year under the designation of a service that needs substantial improvement. Let's be clear that this is the highest tier of concern that can be expressed, and nothing could be more of an incentive for the Government to act to ensure that...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: 'Many of the issues have not been fully resolved'.
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Well, it's not that they haven't been fully resolved; there have only been minor improvements. There is one sentence that really struck me, namely that, 'Inspectors from Healthcare Inspectorate Wales had to assist one patient who needed help but no member of staff was to be seen'. How appalling is that—that inspectors are not only seeing those deficiencies, but they actually have to step in...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you very much for that response. We know that we are facing serious problems of poverty across Wales. In 2017, the Office for National Statistics announced that Ynys Môn was the area with the lowest gross value added in Britain. Last year, Holyhead was named as the place with the lowest net income in north Wales. And we know that, when we're facing a crisis, a cost-of-living crisis as...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: 1. Will the Minister provide an update on the steps being taken by the Welsh Government to tackle poverty on Ynys Môn? OQ59349
Rhun ap Iorwerth: May I thank the Minister for her statement? Perhaps the most significant thing is the fact that a piece of research has been commissioned by the Minister recently to try and better understand what people's experiences are in accessing primary care services, and what does good access mean to them. It's very important, I think, that we should understand this, because so often the patient...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: I thank the Minister for the statement, and I'd also like to place on record my thanks for the Minister's approach on this issue. We've come on quite a long journey, I think. When the UK Government announced its free port prospectus, it was clearly unacceptable that they proposed to offer £26 million for English free ports, only £8 million for one in Wales, and some may have been happy to...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Just very briefly. On that very point, we are acting for the benefit of our communities here. I have a letter from the O.R. Jones company from Anglesey. Yes, they are calling for an extension of this funding, and for a longer-term investment in bus services, they're concerned about the jobs that would be lost if that didn't happen, but, at heart, they are concerned about the impact on...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: I’ll pick on one word: ‘impossibility’. I do not believe it’s impossible for us in Wales to run public services better than we currently do. I do not think it’s impossible for us to put together a vision and to deliver on that vision in a way that delivers better healthcare than we currently see being delivered here in Wales today, despite all the best efforts of our health and care...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: The Minister won't be removed today because Labour will win this vote. What I've said is that I see the importance today of having the opportunity to emphasise what it is that we're fighting for. And to me, it's about accountability. And I would hope that the Government and those on the Labour benches would welcome the opportunity to show that they want to be accountable. We need to know that...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Now, it's no small thing to ask a Minister to step down or to be dismissed, but, having seriously considered the issue, that's what I and Plaid Cymru did some three weeks ago, because we were convinced that the time had come for a new start.
Rhun ap Iorwerth: We can refer this afternoon to a catalogue of failings in the NHS under this Government's watch, this current Minister and her predecessors: the worst waiting times ever; the stubborn failure to change tack when it's been obvious that efforts to cut those waiting times weren't going to succeed, far from it; the crisis of ambulance waits; staff shortages; attitudes towards those taking...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Just a few minutes ago I was asking the Minister for finance for support for Anglesey as a result of the closure of the 2 Sisters Food Group works. Additional funding that is becoming available now through the growth deal could be a way to provide support to the food sector in Anglesey as well. I'm eager to see whether that funding could be delivered to provide the food park that I've been...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: Thank you for that response. There does need to be a response in terms of additional funding on many levels. This is a huge blow to us on Anglesey. I, of course, am in contact with many of those who are losing their jobs as they face an uncertain future, and I am asking for an assurance today that the Minister will look favourably at any applications for support for workers and their...
Rhun ap Iorwerth: 6. What discussions has the Minister had with the Minister for Economy about additional financial support for Isle of Anglesey County Council following the announcement by the 2 Sisters Food Group regarding the closure of its site in Llangefni? OQ59316
